But whence came they who for the Saviour Lord
Have long borne witness as the Scriptures teach?
Ages ere Valdo raised his voice to preach
In Gallic ears the unadulterate Word,
Their fugitive Progenitors explored
Subalpine vales, in quest of safe retreats
Where that pure Church survives, though summer heats
Open a passage to the Romish sword,
Far as it dares to follow. Herbs self-sown,
And fruitage gathered from the chestnut wood,
Nourish the sufferers then; and mists, that brood
O’er chasms with new-fallen obstacles bestrown,
Protect them; and the eternal snow that daunts
Aliens, is God’s good winter for their haunts.
Read all of William Wordsworth's poems · About William Wordsworth
More by William Wordsworth
- Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part II. - XIII - Praised Be The Rivers, From Their Mountain Springs
- Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part II. - XIV - Waldenses
- Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part II. - XIX - Abuse Of Monastic Power
- Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part II. - XL - The Same
- Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part II. - XLI - Distractions
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